KC Fishing For Federal Funds

Mayor Mark Funkhouser would tailor city needs to fit girth of federal funding.

kcur photo by Dan Verbeck

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Kansas City, Mo. – The Kansas City Mayor, his advisers, members of the city council and civic forces are starting to plot the way out of a projected 80 to 90 million dollar short-fund next year.

It's clearly important to be close to the front of the line when cities start asking the Obama administration for funds. So, the plan is to find projects suitable for long term economic recovery.

Mayor Mark Funkhouser has run this by Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill. In his words,"I think the water and sewer stuff is an obvious, obvious place for us where we're ready to go and I think that'll probably turn out to be a very high priority for us but also something that works."

City leaders generally think a project will be funded if it provides long-term jobs, not just a quick fix. The city manager says a half billion dollars worth of projects are nearly ready for a startup, once the money surfaces.